


Letters

by asamandra



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, Nipple Piercings, Prompt Fic, Rape, Scars, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 06:54:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asamandra/pseuds/asamandra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint has letters branded into his back and the team learns what happened.</p><p>Captured during a mission they discover that the evil guy knows Clint and they have to watch him getting tortured and raped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Before

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt on Avengerskink: 
> 
> The avengers are no strangers to casual nudity/semi-nudity - even without the necessities and wear and tear of the job, simply living with each other leads to pleanty of occasions, from (the men) stumbling into breakfast shirtless to suiting up together, from skimpy swimmers to stripping off before an unknown acidic substance can seep through and burn skin.
> 
> As such, it didn't take long for the team to see why Clint's upper body is stunning for more reasons than his excellent muscle definition. Its to be expected, every one of them who can scar has scars, the difference with Clint is that alongside the standard leftovers of injuries picked up on the job are scars which are clearly markers of several occasions of serious torture.
> 
> No one is immature/naive enough to make a big deal out of it, and for the most part Clint is pretty casual and relaxed about it all. In fact there is really only one scar that seems to bother him, three letters which are (carved? burned/branded?)on to his lower back, off limits to any kind of mention or attention, no exceptions.
> 
> Its not until they are captured, Clint being singled out by an enemy he seems to know, while the rest of them are kept useless and watching, that the team realise that the letters are actually someone's initials.

The first time I've seen him without his shirt and pants, I was stunned. Literally. It was in the pool area, he was relaxing on a recliner and he wore just his swimwear. He definitely wasn't the first man I've seen half naked, but by far the prettiest. Everything his sexy arms promised, his body held. Excellent muscle definition, broad chest, flat stomach, slim hip, muscular legs. In addition, that angelic face with eyes I could get lost in and my blood flow has been directly rerouted to lower body parts. Yes, I have to admit, I fell helplessly in love with him on first sight, but that? That made me sure I'm totally right. Even I'm just a guy.

It started slow. The first one was Thor, who came into the kitchen, his shirt in his hands and searching for Pop tarts before he put it on. Then Bruce started to grab his morning tea just in pajama pants. After a while, everyone of us was sometimes without shirt in the common areas. Though, Clint himself was uncomfortable in the beginning, due to the scars on body. But after some time, when he had discovered no one would say anything about it because all of us have scars, some more, some less, hell I've a reactor in my chest, he got relaxed with it. Apart from Natasha (Pepper left the penthouse when she left me) we're all guys here in the tower and there's no need to be ashamed for walking around without shirt. Besides, I'm pretty sure she'd be the last one to complain and by the way, she came out just in her bra, too. 

Additional, I have to mention that our job sometimes entailed to see each other semi or entirely naked. Bruce, who had to patch us up most of the time, saw nearly everyone of us nude. Then, the time, where Natasha got hit from these alien creatures acidic spit and we had to tear off her uniform. Or Capsicle, whose tight panties got ripped from one of these dinosaur-like beasts. And many, many other occasions where it was inevitable in our superhero apartment-sharing community to stumble upon each other in some situations. It happened. And it will happen furthermore. 

The difference between Clint's scars and those the rest of us have were, that most of his are clearly markers of severe torture and not only the _usual_ stuff we got from 'work', like burn marks, stab or bullet wounds. I'm not an expert but it seems he's been tortured not only once. I can see welts, whip marks, cuts, burn marks and over his right hipbone something that looks like someone dropped acidic fluids on him. Some of them are more faded than others. Notwithstanding I think he's the most beautiful man I know and these scars won't change that. Yeah, still in love.

Like I said, it took him a while but somehow he got comfortable with it. The first time I've seen the letters at the lower back, maybe an inch over his ass, was after we started dating for a few weeks. It's been the first time he came up to my penthouse with me. We had dinner at one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city, had a few cocktails too, and somehow we ended up in my bedroom. We started groping in the elevator, kissing and fumbling in the living room and when we'd entered the bedroom we got rid of our clothes in an instant. While steering him backwards (and still kissing) to the bed I let my hands roam over his back and accidentally touched this scars on his lower back. Looking into the mirror behind the bed I could see three letters. R A T. Branded into his skin. 

I'd touched them by accident, but I'd never expected this reaction. He broke the kiss, stumbled backwards and fell onto the bed.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” I asked him concerned.

“No, Tony. It's just... it's... please, don't touch me there. It's... you know... bad memories,” he answered and he looked miserable.

Of course I was curious, but I didn't pester him.

“Okay, no touching there.” Despite general beliefs, I know boundaries and I respect them. I sat down besides him on the bed.

“You okay with that?” I asked, while hugging him.

“Yeah, that's okay,” he smiled sadly.

“Sorry for ruining the mood.”

He laid back on the bed, staring into the mirror at the ceiling. I took the place on his side, watching him.

“God, I'm so fucked up!” he said eventually.

“What happened?”

“Undercover mission went south,” was all he told me.

“You want to talk about it?” I asked, but I knew, what he would say.

“No. Not yet.” Thought so.

“You know I'll be there for you.” He turned his face to me, caressed my cheek and smiled.

“I know.”

I have to admit this evening ended unlike what I had in mind. Somehow we fell asleep, huddled together. But the 'good morning'-sex we had the next day was the perfect compensation. God, this guy is flexible. I didn't know the human body is able to bend in these ways.

After that he rarely slept in his apartment. Usually when he came back from a mission at dead of night or when we had a fight. He can be stubborn as a mule sometimes. Nevertheless, practically he lived with me in my penthouse.

Of course, I learned one day where the letters are from. He didn't tell me. Not that he didn't trust me. The memories were still to bad for him (and seeing all the other torture marks I don't want to imagine, what happened to him that this are his only bad memories). But I, and with me the rest of the team, found it out, three month after I discovered them.


	2. Day one

It's been one of these days. For weeks now a group of mercenaries attacked small villages in South Africa and lots of people disappeared without a trace. SHIELD wanted to make an example and they sent us there. We could prevent the attacks in two villages but the mercenaries were not dumb at all. They had a ingenious tactician, Melvin Strong as we learned later, and we walked into his trap. They found a way to sedate Bruce and Steve, they managed to provoke a malfunction to my suit, they overpowered Natasha and Clint by sheer majority and forced Thor to capitulate if he didn't want to see us die. 

I didn't know which organization was behind them at this moment but I knew they had done their homework. They had the perfect equipment to keep us prisoner, all of us, even a god and a Hulk. At this moment we had no clue why these guys captured us but Fury told us they'd tried to launch an attack against SHIELD and they wanted us out of the way. They'd tried but failed and Strong died. Since the Loki incident SHIELD is prepared, even without us. 

But as I said, in the meantime I - and the rest of the team - found out about the three letters on Clint's back the first day of our captivity. They'd built a dungeon, a real dungeon, under their base in a cave somewhere around the Drakensberg. There they'd have fortified cells and they'd locked us in, Natasha with Steve, Bruce with Clint and Thor with me. When all of us were awake, their leader - a big guy in his late fifties - showed his face, a performance right out of the textbook. But what none of us expected was his lecherous grin when he spotted Clint in one of the cells. And what I didn't expect, was Clint to pale. He backed down to the wall as if he wanted to melt into it. The guy held his speech, told our strong guys that if they didn't behave, they would punish us ordinary humans for it and all this 'evil guy stuff' and I had to contain myself to not roll my eyes.

“And one last thing. Bring me Barton.” he ordered his thugs at the end of this ridiculous speech.

“Yes, Mr. Traeger.” one of the guys answered.

I tensed and wanted to complain but Clint's quick glare let me back off. He didn't wanted me to interfere. The thugs aimed their guns at Natasha and me and Bruce retreated when they entered their cell. It took four of the guys to grab Clint, cuff him and drag him, desperately struggling, out of the cell. And I could clearly see hints of green when I looked at Bruce.

“What do you want from him?” Steve asked, furious staring.

“That's... personal. Captain.” The guy grinned malicious and that sent shivers down my spine.

Clint glared angry at this guy, Traeger, but I know him. I saw the growing panic in his features.

“Hey, Rick! Shouldn't you still be in jail?” Clint spat as the guys had him in front of their boss.

“Yeah, well, Clint. They let me... go,” he grinned and my stomach churned. I wanted to help him, tear Traeger apart with my bare hands, but these cells were really solid built. And I'm not Superman. Clint once again shot me a glance that clearly said 'you intervene and I'm fucked'.

“You know, we still have this unfinished business...” he started then he rammed his fist into Clint's stomach, so that he collapsed. He hunkered over him, pulled at his vest and uncovered Clint's lower back. And now all of us could see the letters. I saw Cap pale, Natasha glare murderous, Bruce get green and Thor grab the iron bars of the cell violently.

“I see you still have them,” he grinned, again. 

And then it dawned to me. It was this guy who burned the letters into his skin. Rick Traeger. Rick A. Traeger, not Rat, what was my first conclusion when I'd seen them. They're his initials. That made me nauseous.

“Yeah, well... sometimes I'm sentimental.” Clint groaned sarcastically. But I could hear the pain in his voice. He manages somehow to get into a kneeling position but the thugs holding him won't let him get up completely. Traeger leaned down, grabbed Clint at his hair and forced him to look at him.

“Just a few more days. But your SHIELD friends had to disturb us. This time, they have other problems. This time, I will break you. Mr. Strong will destroy SHIELD and I can finish 'Project Barton'.” he hissed spiteful.

“Strong? You work for that nut job? Again? You know, what happened the last time, do you?”

“He had the best arguments. I put the Avengers away for his plan and therefor I get you.” I could clearly see the insanity in his eyes.

He turned away from Clint, nodded to one of his thugs and the man disappeared, then the light in one of the dark sections of the dungeon got on and revealed a torture chamber. St. Andrews cross, a pulley, a metal examination table, whips, crops, a car battery and jump leads, a cattle prod, a variety of sex toys, chains, cuffs and other things I couldn't identify. He really had lost his mind.

I could see Clint swallow really hard, his lips merely thin lines while his breathing sped up. If looks could kill, Traeger would have burned to ash under Natasha's glare at this moment.

“You are crazy!” Cap shouted at him while Thor tried again to tear out the iron bars.

“Stop that!” Bruce demanded.

“I'll kill you for that!” I spat at him. 

“So! Let's entertain your teammates, Barton,” Traeger said, nodded to one of his thugs and they grabbed Clint and hauled him over to the torture devices. He started to follow them before he turned around once again.

“Oh, and let's settle a few rules, guys... and lady. I want to enjoy his screams, not yours. I want you to be quiet. You make some noise, I break one of his fingers. You make another noise, I cut the finger off. Third time you make a noise, I break the next finger. And I will start with his left hand. You get it? Then, I know how pretty he is when he suffers. I expect you to watch. You look away, I break one of his fingers. The second time one of you looks away, I cut the finger off. Understood?”

I was shocked. He couldn't be serious. I just stared at him in disbelief, when he repeated.

“I said, understood?”

We all nodded somehow. And I could see that the rest of the team was as shocked as I was. If he'd let me I would've quoted Bruce. 'That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him.' 

“You're nuts, Rick! Stop that!” Clint screamed while the guys opened the cuffs and stripped him out of his vest. He fought but he was outnumbered and two of the thugs still aimed their guns on Natasha and me.

By the time Traeger got over to them they had removed the vest and cuffed Clint's hands behind his back again. He grabbed the pulley, hooked the cuffs to it and pulled Clint up into a strappado and nearly dislocated his arms. It looked so painful but Clint managed to keep quiet.

Traeger walked around him, grabbed his hair and forced him to look up.

“You can't imagine how much I missed this,” he grinned at the younger man. “How much I missed you.” Traeger let go of Clint's hair, walked around him and then pulled a knife out of it's sheath and started to cut off his pants. Clint kicked back and hit the man hard on his leg. Traeger was furious and he swiped Clint off of his legs and the painful groan told me his shoulders got finally dislocated. He ripped off the cut pants and threw them aside. He had a spreader bar on his assortment and attached it with metal cuffs to Clint's ankles. He then removed his skivvies and Clint was naked.

This position was highly degrading but I didn't dare to say a word. 

“Pretty!” Traeger exclaimed, his hands roamed over Clint's body, he slapped his ass and I could see that Clint closed his eyes, swallowing hard again.

“Okay, let's start with lesson one. Again,” he announced and rummaged through his stuff, found a cane, caressed Clint's butt cheeks with it for a few seconds, before he started to flog him really hard. He hit him on his back, his legs, his ass. I could hear the ugly sound when the cane met his flesh, I could see the welts that started to bleed, I could see the tears streaming over Clint's face and then the screams. At first he managed to keep quiet but Traeger beat him till he screamed. It was awful. No one dared to say a word or to look away. His threat was precise and we didn't want to add more pain to Clint. But everyone of us made a vow for oneself to kill this man as excruciating as possible. Finally Clint slumped down, barely conscious and held upright only by his dislocated shoulders, when the guy put the cane aside.

Traeger once again let his hands roam over Clint's bloody body and the beaten man groaned painfully. He then opened his pants and we could see, that he got a boner from hurting Clint. And he intended to do something against it. He let his hands wander over Clint's ass, spread the cheeks and without preparation, he shoved himself into his opening. I could see him bite his lips to not scream again.

“Stop that!” Cap couldn't hold himself back any longer. But Traeger just lazily turned around, looked at Steve, grinned, then he grabbed Clint's left hand and broke his index finger. And Clint screamed.

Traeger, who still had his dick in Clint's ass, turned back and continued raping the helpless man in front of him. He had his hands on his hips and slammed his dick merciless into Clint's body, again and again and again. Tears ran over Clint's face but he kept quiet for the rest of his rape. Eventually Traeger came, shot his load into the younger man before him, then he tucked himself in. After that he leaned himself over Clint and whispered something into his ear. With another evil grin he got up and nodded to his goons.

“Bring him back to his cell. We take a break.”

Without looking back he left the dungeon. Two of the thugs opened the cuffs and Clint slumped to the floor. They removed the spreader bar, then grabbed his arms and dragged him to the cell. We could hear him whimper, his shoulders had to hurt terribly. The other guys aimed their guns at Clint, Natasha and me and Bruce retreated once again back to the wall, then the guys opened the cell and threw Clint to the floor.

“Please, can we have some water and cloth?” Bruce pleaded. One of the guys nodded, and fetched a bucket with water and a few rags and gave it to Bruce.

I crawled over to the bars that separated our cells.

“Bruce, please. How is he?” I asked.

“Hurts.” Clint grinds out.

“His shoulders are dislocated, he's bleeding and definitely teared... you know...” Bruce started.

“I can hear you, you know?”

“I... I... Sorry.” Bruce felt uncomfortable. He had treated all of our injuries more than once, but this was different to him. These brutality just to inflict pain was new to him. Not even General Ross has gone that far.

“You have to set my arms, Bruce. Please.” Clint groaned.

“Okay. But it will hurt.”

“Yeah? No kidding?”

I had to go away. This was too much for me. The crunching sound of the bones slipping back into their position was awful enough, the painful groans even worse but I couldn't stand to see the pain on Clint's face again.

On the other side Steve's complexion changed from ill-green to angry-red and back. Natasha said something Russian and Clint answered her, before he groaned once again as Bruce set the second shoulder.

“What did he mean with lesson one?” Thor asked.

“To show me that there is nothing I could do to prevent what he plans to do in his twisted mind. To hurt me. To claim me.”

“Do I want to know what lesson two will be?” I asked.

Bruce had started to clean the welts and Clint groaned every now and then.

“The last time it had been confirming his ownership.”

“The letters.” Steve stated.

“Yes, the letters. And I don't want to know, what he plans this time.” Clint confessed.


	3. Day two

The worst aspect in this situation was, that I, that all of us, exactly knew, that the guy would come back and drag my lover, our friend, out of the cell and torture him again. And all we could do was sitting around and waiting. We'd tried everything to open these cells, but it was impossible. They were built to keep the Hulk and Thor and the locks could only be opened from the other side of the room. We had nothing but our clothes and Clint not even had that.   
They let us alone for at least half a day. Eventually they brought us a few bottles of water and some power bars. Clint sat down on the floor, right beside the cage bars that separated our cells. I'm sure it has to hurt due to the welts on his backside, but he doesn't say anything. I slid as close as possible onto his side. Thor sat down on the other side of the cell, giving us a little bit privacy. Bruce went over to the other side of his and Clint's cell and sat down, next to Cap and Natasha. They spoke quietly. I didn't understand what they said and I really didn't care.   
“How are you?” I asked Clint quietly.   
“Scared.” he admitted scarcely audible. He pulled his legs close to his body and wrapped his arms around them. I could see him swallow hard and the fear in his eyes. I'm really not used to see something like that. He's Hawkeye, badass motherfucker archer and hero, who saved the world so many times in the last few months. He shouldn't be scared because of this loony. That moment I'd given anything in the world to protect him.  
“He won't let me go, Tony. Not this time. I escaped him once but this time, he won't let me go.”  
“No, Clint. We do not allow this.” I assured him but he snorted bitterly.  
“Yeah? What would you do? We can not leave here and he won't let you come into a position to fight him. I know him. And I know Melvin Strong. Worked with both of them. They're not only crazy, they're ingenious in what they are doing. This trap worked perfect. We're here. Don't you think they have plans to escape without getting caught as well?”  
“They'll find us.” I tried again to assure him, and myself by the way, but the look in his eyes told me I've failed miserably.   
“Tony, please promise me you won't do something to provoke him to hurt you.” He grabbed my arm through the bars and squeezed it hard.  
“Clint, I...” I started but he cut in.  
“Please, Tony. You have to promise me. I can stand the pain he has in store for me but I can't stand to see you hurt. Whatever he doe's to me, don't do something dumb.”   
“I... okay. I promise.”   
“Thanks.” He seemed relieved.   
“You said, you got the scars on a undercover mission.” I changed the subject. “How comes he knows your name? Thought you'd go by an alias?”  
“Yeah. But there was a traitor within SHIELD who sold me out to him.”   
“What happened?” I was sure I don't want to know but I need to.   
“You ever heard about Agent Thorne?” He asked me.  
“No. Should I?”   
“Well, that's the guy Fury always uses as instance in his 'That's not the right behavior of a SHIELD agent' speech.” He looked at his hands, not sure how to continue.  
“Okay.” I waited.   
“Strong offered him money. Lots of money. He wanted SHIELDs secret operations. I was one of them. Undercover in Strong's organization. They were sort of mercenaries, specialized on Anti government organizations operations. You know, imagine you're an evil guy and intents to do something, that could get some government organization on your tracks. You hire Strong, he distracts said organization with an attack or whatever is necessary. He's been very expensive but effective. I've infiltrated one of his teams, Traeger's team, and there I got caught when Thorne betrayed us. He had me two months and four days before Coulson and Tasha found me. Traeger went to jail, Strong disappeared without a trace. It seems, he's back in business.”   
Two months, four days. This nauseated me. I've seen how cruel this guy was in just a few hours. I didn't want to imagine, what he'd done to Clint in two months and four days.   
“Oh god, Clint...” I started. “I...” I couldn't finish what I wanted to say. Traeger was back.  
“So, you ready for the next round?” he asked, malicious smile on his face.   
“Please, be quiet.” He begged us. “I still need my fingers.” He smiled at me reassuring, then got up and walked to the cell door. 

They strapped him to the examination table. His hands bound tightly over his head, the legs spread with the ankles at the corners.   
“I have a present for you.” he said, following the contours of Clint's body with his fingernails. I could see him twitch, but he remained silent.  
Traeger turned away from Clint, grabbed a small box and opened it.  
“Do you know, what I have here?” he asked his captive.  
“Rings. You gonna marry?” Clint asked sarcastically.  
“No, babe. These are for you. I've found a goldsmith who could build me very special piercings. Once attached, you can't open them again. They are forever. And to make sure, that you don't cut them off, I've had a good idea. You know, I have a friend. Colonel William Stryker. I guess, you've heard about him. A few years ago, he found a special metal, Adamantium. It's really cool, because it's indestructible. And because I helped him once, I could persuade him to give me a little bit of this Adamantium. And I let said goldsmith build these piercings.”   
“No!” Clint screamed, trashing in his bonds.   
“You are nuts, Rick.”   
“But Clint, you don't have a say in this. You are mine now, you know?”  
“Never!” he spat, angrily.   
“Okay guys. Hold him down.” Traeger addressed his thugs, who stood by and watched. They moved to the table and pressed Clint down so that struggling was impossible. I stood at the iron bars, grabbed them as hard as possible but I didn't dare to say a word. And so did our teammates. But they glared at Traeger and if looks could kill, he'd burst into flames in an instant.  
I couldn't see anything, Traeger's guys stood to close to Clint, but I could hear him breath fast and loud and then a painful groan. Traeger turned around, took one of the rings out of the box and turned back to Clint. A few seconds later, he changed his position to Clint's other side and now I could see him hold his nipple with a forceps and then pierce it with a needle. He grabbed the other piercing ring, thread it through the hole and closed it. We all saw the pain in Clint's face and the desperation, because he knew, he couldn't get rid of these things. It's worse than the letters. They are on his back and he doesn't see them constantly but these rings, he would see them every day. And they remind him all the time of this moment. And Traeger. And the humiliation and the shame. And I hated Traeger wholeheartedly for all the pain he inflicted on my love. That moment, I swore, that this man wouldn't walk away alive. And if I had to tear down the whole world, I would do it. I'd find him and I'd kill him and if it is the last thing I would ever do, but this man would die. 

He wasn't finished. Of course, he wasn't. When the piercings were attached, Traeger let his thugs step back. I could see the circles embedded in Clint's body. They looked good and as soon as this thought crossed my mind, I hated myself for it. Clint never had a choice and they were meant to humiliate him, to degrade him, to hurt him.   
Traeger smiled at Clint, that hated, lecherous smile. He touched him, let his fingers scrape over the fresh wounds in his nipples.   
“Does it hurt?” he asked eventually. Clint didn't answer. He just pressed his lips together and glared at him murderous.   
“No? Okay, then we have to try something else.” That madman grinned, cheerful. My stomach churned. Traeger turned away from Clint, strolled to his devices and looked over them. He rummaged through them and found, what he was looking for. A cattle prod. My mouth went dry and I could see Clint pale. I threw a quick glance over to Natasha and Cap to make sure, Steve wouldn't do something stupid such as talking or turning. But Natasha was on his side.   
“So, let's see, how this works, then.” Traeger switched that thing on and I could hear the electricity crackle. He watched the sparks at the tip, then he pressed it to Clint's flank. The sound was awful. And due to the painful groaning, it must feel awful, too. I bit my own hand to restrain myself from insulting Traeger.   
“Nothing yet?” Clint still refused to cry out. This time, he pressed the tip of the prod to one of the freshly pierced nipples and Clint arched from of the table. But he was nearly quiet furthermore. Just a small groan. And that was the moment, I could see something snap in Traeger's mind. He pressed the stick without respite onto Clint's body. Clint struggled, but the straps holding him were adamant. Traeger tormented his stomach, his legs, his armpit, his balls, and finally the younger man couldn't hold it back any longer and screamed. He didn't stop to torture him until Clint writhed in pain. And all I wanted to do was to kill this man as painfully and slowly as possible.   
Eventually he put the prod aside and I could clearly see, that bastard was hard again. He gets aroused when he sees another person in pain. That's so gross! I had an uneasy sense of what he intended to do against it. And I wasn't the only one. I could see it on Clint's face. I could see it on the faces of our friends.   
Traeger rounded the examination table, opened the strap on Clint's left ankle. He then grabbed his leg and flipped him over, so that his left foot hit the floor. The right one and his hands he let strapped. It was an awkward position, open and vulnerable. And the next thing I saw was his cock thrusting into Clint's body, again without any preparation. Clint had pressed his eyes shut, bit his lips to not cry out and I could see his hands clench and unclench. And on the inside of his leg was blood, trickling to the floor. The pain must been horrendous. That moment, another thought crossed my mind. This monster had had Clint for two months and four days and now I can't, I won't imagine what the man I love had to endure in this time.   
Traeger moved a bit behind Clint, and then, with his next thrust, he hit his sweet spot. I could see it in his eyes, could hear the gasp. And he hit it again. And then, he smiled, viciously. Traeger bent himself over Clint, reached around his body and grabbed his now half hard cock and started to jack him off. The expression of pain, pleasure and shame on Clint's lovely face was nearly too much for me and when he came, tears in his eyes, he hid his face between his arms.   
A few seconds later, Traeger came as well. With a satisfied smile, he pulled out and then slapped Clint's ass one time.  
“That's it, baby. You're so good.” he purred, still grinning.  
“Lock him up.” He addressed one of his thugs and left the chamber once again. 

Bruce caught him, when they threw him back into the cell. But as soon as the door closed behind him, he fought Bruce's hands off.   
“Don't... please...” he started.  
“Clint, let me help you.” Banner said.   
“No... I'm... I'm... I can do it myself.” Clint retreated to one corner of their cell, as far away as possible from all of us.   
I could still see the shame in his eyes. He was embarrassed about his reaction.   
“Please, let Bruce help you.” I begged him. Thor was by my side and nodded affirmative.   
“No, I...” he finally sobbed, then quieted.   
“Okay, we leave you alone.” Bruce told him and moved away to the other corner of their cell.   
“Baby, please...” I started, but he glared at me furious.  
“Don't call me that!” Darn! I forgot, that Traeger had called him 'baby'. I wished I could kick myself for it.   
“I'm sorry.” I sat down by the bars, just to be there for him. He cleaned himself as far as possible. But I could see the pain in his face. And the blood on the rag and on his chest, too. Traeger really fucked it up. I know, why he's a mercenary and not a body piercer.  
When he was finished, he laid down in his corner.   
“Can we talk?” I asked him, seeing the desperation in his face.   
“No. Not yet. Later.” He mumbled.  
“Clint, please...” I tried once again, but he shut me down.  
“Later. Want to sleep.” He ignored me. And the others as well. I shared worried looks with Bruce. He knows that Clint blames himself for his reaction to Traeger's abuse.   
I leaned my head to the bars and watched him. He's so strong. The torture and the rape were horrible, but he survived it. I wanted to tell him, how much I love him, but at this moment, it would be the wrong thing to say I guessed. I'm not a shrink.   
He shivered. It was cold on the naked rock to sleep. I gestured to Bruce, he should come over, then I handed him my shirt to give it to Clint. At least, he could lay on it. And Bruce and Steve followed suit.  
A few hours later, Traeger's guys brought us more water and power bars. When they threw the things into the cells, Clint woke up, startled. He ate one of the bars, drank some water but he refused, to look at one of us. The others tried to talk to him but he ignored them.   
“Clint...” I eventually started and he must have heard the pain in my voice because he looked at me.  
“Please.” I said. He shook his head.   
“I'm sorry. I...” I tried to tell him how I felt, but somehow that got him out of his state of mind.  
“But you don't have to.” He said, slowly coming to me.   
He finally kneeled besides the iron bars. I guessed, it hurt to much to sit.  
“I failed you.” He said and I saw the tears well up.   
“What? Why?” I asked perplexed.  
“Because I... I... because he made me come.” He eventually whispered.   
“Oh god, Clint. Don't say that.”  
“But I...”  
“No, you don't want any of this. It's just a reaction of your body.”  
“Yeah, but I'm a trained agent, not a school boy.” He laughed bitterly.   
“And your point is?”  
“I should be able to resist. But I... I can understand when you're disappointed.” One of the tears ran down his face. I reached through the cell bars and touched his cheek, brushed away the tear.  
“No, I love you. Be aware of this. You can't disappoint me. I will love you, forever. And whatever this guy is doing to you, it will not change my mind. You are the strongest person I know and you will survive this. He tries to manipulate you. What has happened is just a reaction of your body and it is a natural reaction. But I promise you one thing. The first chance I get, I will kill Traeger. Slowly and painfully.”  
“I love you, Tony Stark.” He finally said.


	4. Day three

It's the third day we were there. Natasha said that. She always has a perfect inner clock. We knew, Traeger would come back soon. And Clint was on the edge. It was bad for us, but for him it must have been much worse. He knew, that Traeger and his thugs would pick him up soon to be tortured and raped again.   
“I wish I could take your place.” I eventually said, when he flinched again at some noise.   
“I know, you would. But I wouldn't let you.” He looked at me and his expressive face told me everything. The love he felt, the hate on Traeger, the fear, the shame, the courage, the concern. It was all there, in his eyes, in his facial expression. And I felt more helpless than all the time before.   
“What can I do?” I asked, holding him through the bars.   
“Be there.”   
“Oh, that's sweet, isn't it, guys?” Traeger was back and he saw us huddled together. He grinned cheerful. And I knew that he has now another threat to Clint.  
“Come on, Barton. We have a tight schedule.” Traeger snarls. And Clint got up.   
I held his hand till he was out of my reach. Then I stood up and walked also to the bars. Bruce stepped back and let him out, but I could clearly see the rage in his blood boiling. It wouldn't take much more to let him hulk out.   
Traeger's thugs grabbed Clint and shoved him over to the examination table. Once again they strapped him down to it. This time they shackled his wrists at waist level to the table and added an extra strap over his chest. He lay still, let them do their work but I could see him swallow hard and his breathing speed up. He closed his eyes, but when Traeger touched his arms, he snapped them open.   
I could see Traeger's cruel smile, while he started toying with the piercings, he attached the last time.  
“They look good, pretty boy. And every time, you see them, you remember me.”  
I grabbed the bars of my cell and I bit my lip to restrain myself from shouting at the man. He groped Clint's body furthermore while waiting for his thugs to bring him whatever stuff he needed.  
Clint pressed his lips together and looked at me.   
“Oh no, pretty boy. He can't help you. Not anymore. You're mine now. I let you stay with them till Strong is ready with SHIELD. And then, you'll come with me and I have buyers for all of your friends. Just a few days longer.”  
“Buyers? What do you mean with buyers?” Clint asked angrily.   
“I mean, when we leave, Stark goes to Hammer Industries, Banner to General Ross, Rogers to Hydra, Romanov to the Russians and Thor to these Chinese researchers, I forgot the name, Shang or Chang or something, Strong knows it.”  
“No! You can't do that!” He yells, struggling against his restraints.  
“Says who? Who will stop me? You? SHIELD? Santa Claus?”  
I could see blood on Clint's wrist where the cuff had chafed his skin. But then, two thugs came in, carrying buckets with water and I knew, what he had in mind. Waterboarding. And that moment I was glad Thor was here with me. If he weren't, I had shouted at Traeger and he would have had hurt Clint for it, had cut off his finger. But Thor saw what I intended to do and he stopped me. Just in time.  
Clint wanted to say something but Traeger grabbed his face with one of his hands, forced him to look at him, Traeger.  
“But you better close that pretty mouth now, or I have to hurt your lover.”  
Clint glared at him, if looks could kill, Traeger would have been struck by lightning that moment. But he kept quiet.   
“That's my boy.” He teased. Then he grabbed his captives head and pressed it back onto the table. He wetted a cloth and pressed it over Clint's face, then one of the guys poured water over it. I counted. Fifty three seconds before he started to trash for the first time. Traeger removed the cloth, let him breath four times, then he repeated the procedure. Again and again and again. And eventually Clint screamed. Finally he threw the cloth away and I could see more blood on Clint's wrists, where he had fought against the restraints. Traeger rounded the table and what I saw made me angry, really, really angry. The man had a hard on. Once again, he got aroused while torturing my helpless lover, while watching him writhe in pain.   
He leaned over Clint, whispered something in his ear and I could see him pale.   
“No, please. Don't. I'll do everything you want me to.” I heard him say, heard the pain in his voice. I knew, Traeger threatened him to participate in his own rape to save me or all of us. A tear ran down his face and he closed his eyes. Traeger whispered again in his ear and Clint nodded.  
The thugs opened the straps, that held Clint tied to the table. And they helped him to stand, his legs were shaky. But he didn't stand very long. He sank to his knees in front of his captor, opened the pants of the man and freed his rock hard dick. And then he opened his mouth and swallowed it, started to blow him with a disgusted look in his face. Traeger soon grabbed Clint's head and fucked his mouth violently. But he soon stopped, shoved Clint away that he fell to the ground.  
“Come on, turn around and show me your sluthole.” He commanded. And Clint obeyed. He stayed on his knees, but turned around. He grabbed his cheeks and spread them, his head touching the ground in front of him.   
“That's it, pretty boy.” And without any preparations Traeger shoved in. Again I could hear the painful groans. The older man had grabbed Clint's hips in a bruising grip and fucked him hard and merciless. Before he came, he stopped, turned his captive around.  
“Come on. Suck me off. And you'll swallow all of my cum, bitch. Understood?” Clint nodded and once again he took his cock in his mouth. It didn't take long and I could see him swallow. Another tear left his eye and ran down his face. I still wanted to shout and insult the other man and I'm still glad, that Thor was with me. I haven't noticed that I was down on my knees, not until Thor grabbed me from behind and held me and put one hand over my mouth. Traeger, who saw us, gave us his evil grin. He then pushed Clint away and tucked himself in. Traeger's thugs came over, grabbed Clint and forced him to stand, then they dragged him back to the cell and once again, Bruce was there to catch him.   
He fell to one knee, got up with Bruce's help, retching, and stumbled over to their bucket to throw up.   
Traeger came over to my cell, stood there grinning and then he asked me if I enjoyed their show.  
“Show? This is a show for you? You piece of shit! I promise you one thing. For every second of pain he had to endure, I'll let you bleed. Whatever you come up with, it will be just a child’s birthday party for what I have in mind for you.” I spat at him, violently.  
He arched his brow, then nodded and walked away, still grinning. 

He slept. Finally. He still had our shirts to lay onto and he had curled up into a fetal position to protect himself. It was pure exhaustion that let it happen but he finally slept.   
I sat down at the bars that separated our cells and Bruce was with me.  
“I wish, I could do anything.” I eventually said to him, as quietly as possible. I just don't wanted to wake Clint up.  
“I know. Me too.”   
“I'll kill him, Bruce. I'll rip him apart with my bare hands. He's a monster.” I could feel tears well up.   
“We don't let him get away with it. What he'd done, it's... it's... I can't find proper words for it, Tony. I can understand you. And I assure you, we will help you.”  
“Look at him. His whole life was struggle. His parents, his brother, his mentor, the time on the streets, the time with military and then with SHIELD. He always had to fight to get a little bit luck. But most of the time life fucked him. I promised him that it'd be better now. And what can I say. I failed him. Bruce, I failed him so badly. All the pain... ” I couldn't hold back the tears now.   
“You know, I always thought my life was bad. Oh yeah, my father didn't love me, but hell, I had a father. And even though he never showed it, he cared for me. But Clint? All he knows is pain, rejection, abuse, cruelty.”  
Bruce grabbed my shoulders, held me as far as possible.  
“That's not entirely true. He knows love. You showed him. He knows family. Natasha and Coulson showed him. And he knows friendship. We all showed him.”  
I looked at Bruce, then nodded. He was right.   
“I'd give up everything, everything in the world to spare him this. My company, my money, my life, everything, to keep him safe. You know that?” I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand.  
“I know. We all know.”   
“All this pain, all this cruelty, just that this bastard could get off. How could he stand it? Bruce... he knows what that monster will do to him and every time he calls him, he goes to him. How could he do this? How could he stand it?”  
“It's you. You are the one that gives him the strength. He told me last time you were asleep. He said, if he didn't had you, then he had long since given up.”  
“Oh god!” More tears ran over my face.  
“He loves you, Tony. More than his own life. He told me. And now he needs you. Be there for him. Be strong for him.”  
“I will. I'll always be there for him.” I promised.

“Bruce told me you two talked.” He said, when I sat down besides him.  
“Yeah.”   
“You promised me to not do anything stupid, right?” He took my hand through the bars.  
“I won't.”  
“He said, you threatened Traeger to kill him.”  
“Guess, that was something stupid.”  
“No. No, I'm just...”  
“Disappointed?”  
“No. No...” He smiled. “I love you.”  
“He will let you pay for my stupidity.” I eventually admitted.  
“Yeah? And the difference to now is?”   
“I don't know.”  
We kept silent for a while, just sat side by side (with the bars between us) and held hands.  
“When you walk out to him, you could kill him, can't you?” I asked, some time later.  
“Yes.” He admitted.  
“Why didn't you do it?”  
“I could take him, maybe three or four of his goons, but there are ten of them in here. And I don't know how much are outside this cave. They wouldn't shoot at me. They'd hurt you. Maybe not all, but a few of you guys would get hurt. And I will not let that happen.”  
“But...”  
“No! Never!”  
“Stubborn mule.” I grumbled but that made him smile.   
“I know. Just like this guy I love, you know.” He bantered.


	5. Day four

The time in this cage ran different. Sometimes it seemed time was running short and sometimes it crawled really slow. I really didn't knew how long we were in there. Natasha said it was the fourth day. I had to believe her.   
As usual, Traeger came in with a few of his goons. With the guys who were already here, there are now nine of them. And they all trained their guns in our direction. I looked at Clint, he shrugged as if he wanted to say: see, I told you.  
They opened the cell and gestured to Clint to come out. And he followed. I looked at him and he shook his head, barely noticeable. They grabbed his arms, dragged him to the St. Andrews cross and tied him up.   
“I have something really nice here.” Traeger said as he pulled a small case out of his pocket.   
“Mr. Strong sent it yesterday. We need more tests.” He opened the case and there were a few syringes. I could see them, when he pulled one out.  
“It's a new drug. It will increase the responsiveness of your nociceptors. It will be fun.” He grinned. But when he injected the fluid in his arm I could see the fear in Clint's eyes.   
Once again, I was on the verge of shouting at him and again Thor was there and prevent me to do it.   
Traeger left, said he will be back in twenty minutes. The drug will need time to be effective.   
We were all strained. A few minutes later it started, slowly. The chains that held Clint in position seemed to hurt him and we could hear the first painful groans. His overstretched limbs also had to hurt. And Traeger had not even begun.   
Eventually he came back. 

“You ready, pretty?” He asked. Clint ignored him, concentrated on not screaming. This damn drug was really effective.  
“So, then let's start slow.”   
He moved closer and scratched with his nails over Clint's chest. The effect was severe. Clint started to groan. But Traeger didn't stop. He moved his nails all over his body and the younger man couldn't hold back. The painful noises were awful but I didn't dare to look away. He slapped him, with his bare hands, he tweaked his pierced nipples and pulled on his hair. And he got the first screams. And tears. And again, my hate increased.   
“You know, pretty, every contact is multiplied tenfold. What do you think how it feels, when I whip you?”  
“No!” Clint pressed out.   
“Well, we'll see.” Traeger moved over to his supplies and grabbed a cat-o'-nine-tails. That moment Thor grabbed me from behind and pressed his hand over my mouth to keep me quiet. And Natasha did something similar to Steve.   
I know how the cat-o'-nine-tails feels, tried it with some girl once but it really wasn't my cup of tea. And she just used it lightly.   
Traeger started to beat Clint and it only took a few seconds and the bound man screamed in pure agony. He lost consciousness a few times but the goons always woke him up with cold water and then the beating continued. I don't know how much time went by. When Traeger stopped, Clint was just a convulsing, sobbing mess, his voice broken, all fight gone.   
He finally gave his goons a sign and they opened the chains that held Clint upright and as soon as they were loose, he fell down. He didn't move, but Traeger did. He hunkered down besides him.  
“How was it for you? Was it as good for you as it was for me?” He mocked. And he was not done. Of course he wasn't. I struggled against Thor's hold. I wanted to yell at the man, that he should leave Clint alone. That he should try someone who's able to defend himself. But I knew what was coming. I knew, what he would do to my love. I knew, that, hadn't Thor held me back, Traeger had cut off Clint's finger because of me. At that moment, I couldn't hold myself back. And I hated Thor as much as Traeger.   
The man grabbed Clint at his hips, pulled him up into a kneeling position, then he opened his pants. And he was rock hard, as usual. The pain of a helpless man just made him so hard. It's disgusting. The drug was still working and I heard Clint whimper when he was manhandled. Traeger enjoyed the sounds a few seconds, I could see it on his face, then he shoved his dick once again into Clint's body. The pain seemed excruciating. He cried out, his broken voice rasping, tears streaming over his face. This time he raped Clint so violently, I could see blood, streaming down his legs. But he didn't plead, didn't beg him to stop. Maybe he just had lost consciousness.   
When Traeger was done, he pulled out, threw Clint away like a used Kleenex.   
“That's it, pretty. Lock him up.” He said, before leaving, a satisfied smile on his face.   
When the guys had him in his cell and most of them were gone, I could hear him. He wasn't unconscious, he just kept from giving Traeger what he wanted with his last bit of strength.   
But when he was with Bruce, I heard him.   
“Hurts so much, Bruce.” He said. “Please, do something. I can't stand it any longer.”   
“Knock him out.” Natasha commanded.  
“Please, Bruce.” Clint cried once more.   
And with a determined expression Bruce did the only thing he could. He knocked him out. 

“We have to do something.” I said quietly, as Bruce finally joined me and Thor sitting at the bars. He had just treated Clint's newest injuries.   
“You know, that I can't destroy these cells. I've tried. Remember?” Bruce mentioned.  
“Yes, I know. But we can't sit around and let this nut job do whatever he wants to him.” I insisted.  
“What do you have in mind, friend Tony?” Thor asked.   
“He said, he can take Traeger and a few of his guys.”  
“But when he does that, the others will shoot at us.” Bruce said.  
“Before they close the cell, can the other guy come around to play?”  
“They still will shoot.”  
“We have to take that risk.”   
“There's nothing to hide in these cells, you know?”  
“Yes, Bruce, I know that. You just have to be over at the other wall to open the cells as fast as possible.”  
“Okay, I'll talk to Steve and Natasha and later I tell you what they've said.” Bruce said and left. He went to the other side of his cell and sat with the other two to talk.  
“I think, he meant things like that when he begged you not to do something stupid.” Thor added and looked at me.  
“Yeah. Quite possible. But what would you do if it were Jane?” I asked him.   
“I'd do everything in my power to save her.”   
I looked over to Clint. He still laid on the heap of shirts and was out cold. Even in his unconscious state I could see the pain written over his face. This drug was still working. Traeger will pay for it. He has more of the stuff, I've seen it. He will get a dose of his own poison. He will regret the second he laid his eyes on my lover. He will regret the moment his mother has born him. I will see to that. Sometimes I wondered if Bruce's Hulk-rage was infectious. 

As I mentioned, Strong and his guys attacked SHIELD. And they failed. This moment, while we were plotting, help was on it's way. When Traeger got the drug, Strong was already dead. He directed the attack himself and he got shot. Agent killed him, Fury told us later. I can only guess why he would go into an attack himself but maybe he wanted to be sure everything worked as planned. His biggest mistake was, that he believed himself to be the only tactician genius on this planet. Clearly an overestimation of his own capabilities. SHIELD has many tacticians on their payroll and they usually choose the better ones. So, the attack was fend off and they noticed, that we were still missing. It took them a little bit of time but they found out about Traeger and his latest whereabouts. Agent formed a team and they came. But we didn't know that. We sat in our cells and tried to find a way to get out. We were sure one more session with Traeger and his drug and Clint would break. He's strong, but no one can endure what he had to and come out safe and sane.   
Cap and Natasha agreed to my suggestion. We had to take the risk, that they would shoot at us but we counted on a moment of shock when they were suddenly confronted with the other guy. Clint was against it, as I expected. He said again, that he wouldn't risk that we get hurt. But after a long talk with Natasha (in Russian) and another long talk with me, we convinced him. He would do it. Now we had to wait, till the next day. We, that means, Natasha, had discovered some sort of schedule. He took his time with Clint once a day about the same time. So, we tried to form our plan, but we couldn't to this too openly. We're still guarded by Traeger's goons. And we didn't know if he had cameras or mics in here. It took us a few hours to finish the plan. We changed places, sat together with each one for some time. But not too different from the days before.   
At least, our plan was ready. When Traeger came to get Clint, he would go out. Before they could close the cell, Bruce would rage out and attack the guys at the cell door. In this time Clint would try to knock out Traeger and as many of his goons as he could. The rest of them would shoot at us, as ordered. And we would take the moment of shock and lay down flat, because surely the first few shoots would be at chest height. Clint or Bruce would try to reach the levers on the other side of the cave, would open the doors and then we'd fight. Not the perfect plan, but we had to take what we could.   
Nevertheless, it ended differently. 

It was a few hours to soon, as Traeger came back. He had a handful of his thugs with him. This time, only our guards aimed at us, the guys with Traeger aimed at Clint.  
“Out!” He barked and he sounded really pissed. Clint looked at me, then at Cap and Natasha and shook his head slightly. We all sensed, that something was wrong.   
The guys grabbed Clint at his arms, turned him around and cuffed his hands behind his back, while Traeger himself just tried to close the door of the cell, as we heard it. Gunfire.   
“Do it!” I yelled at Bruce and he changed immediately. He jumped to the cell door and was out at the goons in the cave. Traeger pulled out his gun and shot at the Hulk but it was useless. We knew Bullets couldn't hurt him. Meanwhile Clint had reacted. With his legs he attacked his two guards and had them at the floor in an instant. The other thugs were unsure because of the gunfire, that sounds as if it was nearer than the minute before. Someone was coming.   
But the few seconds of broken concentration were enough for the Hulk to smash them. Traeger lunged at Clint and managed to grab him and held him at gunpoint. He tried to reach the passage out of the cave. That moment I saw Agent come in, dressed in his battle armor and armed to the teeth. He had a really nasty looking rifle and aimed at Traeger but the big man ducked himself behind Clint.   
“Go away!” He screamed at Coulson and the other SHEILD Agents.   
Hulk wanted to attack Traeger but Cap somehow managed to convince him to stay back. He stood there, breathed heavily and would rip Traeger apart as soon as Cap let him.   
But the gun at Clint's temple was threatening and the Agents waited for further instructions from Coulson.   
“You two, in here!” Traeger yelled and two more Agents came into the cave.   
Still ducked behind Clint he left it.   
“Open that damn cage!” I finally screamed at Agent. And one of the men let us out.   
At first I wanted to follow him, but then I remembered something. I ran over to Traeger's torture chamber, found the box with the drugs and grabbed it. Then I followed him.   
I catched up with him outside the of the caves and he still had Clint at gunpoint. He tried to reach a helicopter. That was the moment the whole world turned red. 

I don't know what happened in the next few minutes. I can't remember. I just saw that man threatening my lover. And the next thing I remember was, that Cap and Agent tried to drag me away from Traeger. My side hurt like a motherfucker and I was bloody. And I saw the man who tortured and raped Clint so violently the last few days at the floor. Two of the syringes with the drug in his chest and his face merely a bloody pulp. His left arm had a very strange angle and one of his knees was clearly broken. My hands hurt but I tried to break free and I screamed at the two to let me go.   
And then I heard his voice.  
“Stop, Tony! You have to stop now!” It was Clint. He was alive. He stood next to Agent and yelled at me. To see him, to hear him was such a relief, I finally stopped struggling. And I sagged to the floor, exhausted.   
Agent opened the cuffs that held Clint's hand still behind his back and then I felt his arms around me and I embraced him so hard, I never wanted to release him.   
“It's over.” He murmured into my ears, clinging to me as well. I couldn't believe it. I felt the tears in my eyes. And he still held me.   
“Oh god, it's over.” I eventually realized.


	6. Then

The next few hours went by in a blur. Suddenly there were medics, collecting me and Clint with gurneys. Apparently Traeger hat shot at me and the hurting in my side was a bullet hole. They said, I've lost a lot of blood during the fight with him. The medics stopped the bleeding, gave me some painkiller and obviously some sedative as well. They put us in Quinjets, waiting outside of the caves, and the next thing I remember was the infirmary in some SHIELD base. They gave me some really good happydrug. Nothing hurt at that moment but the constant beeping and the drip into my arm was a good indicator, that they gave me something really strong. Someone was there in the room with me. I could hear the rustling of paper.  
“Good, you're awake.” Agent said. He sat at a chair in my room, files on his lap and a ballpen in his hand.  
“What happened?” I asked. At least, that was what I wanted to ask. What came out of my mouth sounded more like 'wh apen'.  
“You got shot. The surgeons patched you up.”  
“Where's Clint?” I tried once more. 's lint' was it.  
“He's okay so far. He's in another room right now, sleeping.” Coulson closed the file he was working at and stood.  
“I want to see him.” I demanded.  
“Yes. And when he's awake and you are not so high on painkillers anymore then we put you two in a room together. But now, you both need to rest.”  
“Traeger?” I asked.  
“He's here. But he's in a... well... not so good condition. I'll tell you later.”  
“Okay. I'll sleep now if you don't mind.” I mumbled tiredly. I haven't heard him leave anymore.

When I woke again, I was in another room. It was bigger and there was another bed in it. I didn't need to look to know that it is Clint in it. I know his breathing.  
A small smile curved my lips. He is alive and safe now. And Traeger won't be able to reach him anymore. I tried to turn over, but that hurt despite the painkillers. So I just turned my head. He was asleep. Maybe he's drugged up to the eyeballs with painkillers as well. He looked peaceful, as usual when he slept.  
I kept watching him, till I heard the door. Someone came in. I saw Cap and Agent. And a doctor.  
“Hey.” I greeted them.  
“Tony.” Cap said and Agent just nodded.  
“So, why the long faces?” I asked them.  
“Traeger just died.” Cap answered.  
“Okay. That's good, isn't it?”  
“Well, we had hoped to interrogate him.” Agent mentioned.  
“Did he die because of what I did?” I eventually asked.  
“It was the drug. You gave him two full doses and that was maybe a bit too much.” The doctor threw in. He walked over to us and controlled the medical equipment, our records, the drips while we talked, then he left.  
“Okay. How much did he give Clint?” I wanted to know.  
“About a quarter of one dose.” Clint said. He'd woken up and nobody noticed it.  
“Oh.” Was all I could say at that moment. Yes, maybe two full doses could be a little bit too much. But hell, that bastard deserved it.  
“Was it...” I started and Agent knew exactly what I wanted to know.  
“... painful and slow? Yes, it was. He screamed every second since he woke up and there wasn't a sedative strong enough to subdue him.”  
“Good.” I didn't say, that I regretted to not see him screaming in agony. But I was glad, he was dead. Maybe they let me see his corpse, I thought. Oh, and I should let JARVIS search for video footage of his death struggle. Just to get sure he's truly dead.  
“We need your testimony. Not today, but in near future.” Coulson said. I nodded, and looked at Clint, who nodded too.  
“How are you? How are the others?” I heard him ask, looking at Steve.  
“Okay. We're okay. How about you?” Steve was nervous. I could see it. He didn't know, how to treat him and didn't want to make a mistake.  
“It will be better, soon.” Clint said, fumbling with the cast on his hand.  
“That's good. The others send their regards, by the way.”  
“Okay. And Steve, thank you.” Steve was shocked. Why would Clint thank him for not doing anything?  
“Why...” He started and I could see his confusion. But Clint lifted his arm and wriggled with the rest of his fingers who were not in the cast.  
“Oh... okay. Well... I... I let you two rest. The others will come and visit you, soon.” He eventually said and left, Agent nodded and followed him.  
When I turned my head and looked at Clint I saw him lying on his side, watching me. And he had a very strange expression on his face.  
“What? Did I do something stupid?” I asked. I've never seen this expression before.  
“You fought for me.” He said.  
“Of course I did.”  
“No, you don't understand what I mean. _You_ , Tony Stark, fought for _me_ , Clint Barton.”  
“Yes, I know what I did.” At this moment I really didn't understand what he meant.  
“No one had ever done something like that.” He still looked at me with that intense stare.  
“But Agent and Natasha...” I started, but he cut me off.  
“That's not the same. They're doing it because we're a team. Because we work together. Because we're friends. But no one ever had fought for me because of... _me_. You know?”  
And now I get it. I felt the tears come back. He sat up and looked at me.  
“I'd do everything for you. Just for you. Just because you are you. Not because we're teammates, not because we're Avengers. Just for you, Clint Barton. And you know why? Because I love you.”  
This moment, a grin spread over his face. He left his bed, swayed over to mine and grabbed my face with both his hands.  
“I love you, too.” And then he leaned in and kissed me.  
“So, and now, slide over a bit.” He shooed me, and when I had accomplished, he slipped onto my side, snuggled up to me and wrapped his arms around me.  
“I'll never let you go.” He stated. Then he kissed me once more and I grinned. 'I'll never let you go, too.' I thought and hugged him.

That was one year ago. In the meantime we had our ups and downs. Something like that doesn't end without emotional fallout in the aftermath. Two month after the incident we nearly broke up. But with the help of our friends and some professional assistance (yes, we went to a shrink), we made it.  
The nightmares come less and less often and he sometimes sleeps in his old apartment. Yes, he still has it. As I said, stubborn like a mule. It was impossible in the first few months to stay there alone for him. The nightmares were really bad. But now, they come once in a blue moon and when he comes back from a mission late at night, he stays there.  
He went back to active duty three months after the incident. At first I was so scared, that something bad would happen, but he has Agent and Natasha or the Avengers at his side and the bad feelings subsided. I know, they will protect him when I'm not around.  
JARVIS found the video footage and I saw Traeger dying. It looked really painful, but I wished, he would have made it longer. Just the few hours of pain weren't enough for my peace of mind. But he's dead and I've seen his corpse (and yes, I spit at it and I feel not ashamed) and it's over.  
SHIELD sent scientists to the caves where we were held. They want to know, why Thor or Hulk couldn't destroy the iron bars. It turned out Traeger had more Adamantium as he admitted. The bars were a blended with that stuff and stuck really deep in the rocks. They found out, that he or Strong had more contact to Stryker as they to confessed, because obviously a mutant embedded the bars to the rock, a mutant, who could manipulate the rocks. No matter what our superguys would have tried, it was impossible to break out of these cells. They accepted that now.  
Speaking of accepting something, the piercings Traeger forced upon Clint, they are still here. We visited a few doctors and they said they could remove them surgically but finally he decided to keep them. He said, they remind him every day, that Traeger tried to break him but that there is someone who would fight for him. The letters on his back are removed now. They were too ugly. But a few months ago he came home and had a tattoo over his heart, a small one. Three letters: AES. I had tears in my eyes when I saw them.  
“Five minutes, Mr. Stark.” The door opens and one of the assistants reminds me. So, I have to stop talking now. I have an important appointment. In five minutes, Clint is going to make me the happiest man in this world. He accepted my proposal and in a few minutes he will be my husband.

**Author's Note:**

> [asamandra on tumblr](http://asamandra.tumblr.com/)


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